Bill's eulogy at Mom's funeral Mass

I posted Chris Van Dyk's lovely poem in eulogy of mom a few days ago. And I also want to post Bill's and Michelle's, which were written out beforehand. (It would be great if the extemporaneous speakers could reconstruct their eulogies and post them, too.)

Here's Bill's:

So, Father Tom says we have 15 minutes total, and I have 4 minutes. If I run over, please, next person, cut your time. The last thing I need is to have a priest of God mad at me.

My old boss told me that you always need to start with the most important things first because people stop listening very fast. Because of that, I wanted to make sure that we recognize some people. First of all, my sister, Charmaine. She was Rita's friend, daughter, travel partner, movie partner, buffet buddy, and right hand for the last several years. And if it weren't for Charmaine , we would have had these ceremonies several years ago. Chamaine did a fantastic job making sure Mom had great fun, lots of friend to see and a full life.

Second, my other sister, Peg. Peg and Charm traded off or tag-teamed, and they did crazy things with Mom, like camping when she was at age 85. Peg opened her house to Mom and all of us at all times.

Third, and not in any order of importance, the Williams family. Mom really didn't come into her own until Grandpa Jim came into her life. There's a marketing slogan that says life begins at 50, but with Mom, life began when she met Jim.

The Van Dyke families: I want to say with all your dang kids, grandkids, weddings, etc .we didn't see a lot of Mom some years, because she was so busy supporting the good Catholic families that you were.

I was proud to be Mother's son, and to be honest--and my sisters will attest to this--I was Rita's favorite son.

I was also sad when Mom started to experience issues relating to cancer, its treatment and her age. But when I reflect back on all the things she did and all the ways she acted, and as I watch the constant entourage of family and friends who have sent cards or visited, I realize that she had 88 amazing years. She did Bloomsday when she was 87, she has been camping at Priest Lake for the last 12 years, she visited Hawai'i four months ago. And now she's fishing every day, with Jim baiting her hook, and no license is required.

I was very, very sad to see my Mom pass and very sad to see her life and energy fade. But what I took away from it, and certainly invite you to share, was her joy, her non-judgmental love, and her love and care for others.

My mom was never one to amass material things, yet she did a great job trying to help us when we wanted to exercise a dream.

To me Rita's character was summed up when my sisters and I were at Mom's bedside in Hospice House. Charmaine showed us a video that to me outlined wonderfully what my mom was about. It was a 30-second video taken on Charm's cell phone. In the background, you can hear my sister prompt Mom. My Mom starts out, "Hi, Bill. I am doing fine. I started chemo, and it's going well. Peg and Charm are taking good care of me." In the background, you can hear Charm whisper, "You have 17 more seconds." You can see mom try to conjure up the next most important concern she has. She then blurts out, "Oh! When I was doing the wash, I found your other sock. I will mail it to you."

God bless Rita Williams.